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Consumers’ raw poultry washing practices: A cross-sectional and observational study in eight Southeast Asian countries
Get PDFConsumers are recommended not to wash raw poultry before cooking since this practice increases risks of cross contamination with foodborne pathogens. However previous studies had identified that consumers were unaware of this incorrect behaviour. This study aims to assess consumers' self-reported and observed raw poultry washing practices in Southeast Asian (SEA) countries. A mixed method design was employed, with data collected via a cross-sectional survey across eight SEA countries, observational studies and semi-structured interviews conducted in Indonesia and Malaysia. Ninety-six percent (n = 2009) of surveyed participants reported that they washed raw poultry at home. Participants from Laos and Philippines, older, married and low-income participants reported washing raw poultry more frequently. The main reasons for washing raw poultry were to remove dirt, slime, blood or feathers and the act of washing makes them feel safer. Participants from Cambodia (OR = 2.855, p < 0.001), Indonesia (OR = 3.208, p < 0.001), Laos (OR = 3.012, p < 0.05), Malaysia (OR = 2.003, p < 0.05) and Thailand (OR = 2.148, p < 0.001) were 2.00–3.21 times more confident about not washing raw poultry upon understanding the rationale that washing does not reduce microbial load. Participants who purchased from supermarkets (OR = 1.785, p < 0.05) were significantly more confident about not washing raw poultry compared to other sources of raw poultry. Our observation study identified various cross contamination pathways including lack of hand hygiene practices, inadequate cleaning and sanitation procedures, and cross contamination of raw poultry and washed water to surrounding areas. Semi-structured interviews revealed that participants preferred to wash raw poultry due to the lack of cleanliness of raw poultry purchased from traditional markets and the act is ingrained in their cultural practice. Due to consumers' preference for freshly slaughtered poultry and perceived cleanliness of raw poultry purchased from traditional markets, hand hygiene practices during and after handling raw poultry and cleaning of kitchen sinks and surrounding areas with soap should be emphasised. Targeted food safety messages and educational campaigns suited to local cultural differences should be conducted. This study presents the first empirical findings on consumers’ raw poultry washing practices in eight SEA countries. Practical implications and further recommendations are provided
Smart Wearable Device for Nocturnal Enuresis
Get PDFThis research was designed to evaluate if it is viable to awaken children with urinary incontinence at the pre-void phase using a smart wearable device and enable them to control incontinence with fine-tuned individual parameters determined by the device intelligently. To address this research question, a miniaturised wearable smart device was built in this multidisciplinary research to monitor the non-linear behaviours of the bladder during its expansion with urine intake. The device, with its customisable abilities, sets an individual alarm point to awaken the child with incontinence before voiding. Safety parameters, aesthetics and ergonomic use of the device were investigated through hospital trials with children and the device was improved based on the obtained feedback from these trials.Clinical Relevance: The device will help children learn how to control their incontinence over time
Digital Games and Mobile Learning for Inclusion: Perspectives from Special Education Teachers
No full textDigital games and mobile technology present remarkable opportunities for inclusive education when their design is constructively aligned with accessibility and learning objectives, alike. The aim of this paper is to explore the perspectives of special education teachers on the functional role, affordances, and inherent constraints of mobile games and gamification platforms when employed as a learning intervention for educating students with learning disabilities. A mixed-methods study was conducted to address the research questions. The findings highlight the importance of designing highly individualised gamified activities for learners and the need to involve special educators throughout the game design and development lifecycle
#HerMetaverseToo - Gender-based Hate and Abuse in the Metaverse: The Case of Female Athletes
No full textMetaverse applications are gaining popularity globally, empowering immersive virtual reality experiences and dynamic social interactions among users. The Metaverse sports arena is also expanding as athletes and their fans extend their interactions from long-established social media to the Metaverse. Unfortunately, the female population is subject to more hate, abuse, and discrimination on social media. A special case concerns female athletes, who are on the receiving end of such acts. Despite the male-dominated sports world, female athletes are generally more engaging with their fans and strive to inspire their audience more actively in comparison to their male counterparts. Inevitably, as female athletes craft their virtual selves, the risks and threats they are currently exposed to on social media may also emerge in the Metaverse. In this paper, we aim to explore how gender-based hate and abuse could potentially manifest in the Metaverse and under what circumstances. Suggested countermeasures are proposed to mitigate potential threats to both female athletes and their fans, also extending on the overall female population’s safety, privacy, mental health, and wellbeing
Dietary interventions for the management of chronic constipation in children
Get PDFThis is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows:
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of dietary interventions for the management of chronic childhood functional constipation
Survey of the husbandry and biosecurity practices of backyard chicken keepers in the UK
Get PDFBackground: This survey investigated the housing, feeding, health and welfare of backyard chickens kept in the UK. Methods: Information was collected via an online questionnaire active from May to July 2021. The survey asked about flock demographics, housing, diet, enrichment provision, if the flock was registered with the Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA) and the reason, preventative health care and biosecurity, and the incidence and methods of euthanasia. Results: The majority of flocks (48.8%) consisted of one to five birds, were located in rural areas (58%) and were kept as pets (77%) and/or for eggs (71.6%). Enrichment was provided by 78.4% of keepers. Most respondents (69%) were aware of the Animal Plant and Health Agency poultry registration scheme, with 32.8% being registered with the scheme. Kitchen scraps were fed by 29% of keepers. Veterinary services were used by 63.6% of keepers, although 4% said they struggled to find a veterinarian willing to treat backyard poultry. New additions to the flock were isolated by 70.2% of keepers. Limitations: The survey was distributed through poultry‐specific Facebook groups and via chicken rescue centres, so it is not a truly random sample of backyard chicken keepers. All survey‐based studies have an inherent element of subjectivity. Conclusions: The survey identified biosecurity, humane euthanasia training, veterinary training in backyard poultry medicine, and enrichment provision as areas where improvements can be made to improve poultry health and welfare and reduce the risks of infectious disease transmission
Academic, Clinical Service and Economic Evaluation of the Postgraduate Diploma Associate Psychological Practitioner (PgDip APP) Programme - Cohort 3
Get PDFExecutive Summary
Introduction to the Evaluation
Early in 2019 the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP), followed by the NHS People Plan in 2020, both recognised the need to increase workforce supply of appropriately skilled and motivated psychological practitioners to meet need and improve outcomes. Challenges exist at all career levels: entry, transition, and development towards senior clinical and/or leadership roles. Strategic workforce programmes across the North-West Coast system (Lancashire & South Cumbria, L&SC; Cheshire & Merseyside, C&M), anticipating this, commissioned this project to support sustainable expansion of a new psychological professions workforce to support NHS policy aims of improving access to psychological interventions. Sponsored by Health Education England (HEE) and led by The Innovation Agency (IA), The Academic Health Sciences Network for the North-West Coast, in partnership with Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) and The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), the Trainee/Associate Psychological Practitioner (TAPP) was developed. Cohort 1 included 50 funded roles and ran January 2021 to January 2022, with an evaluation of this cohort evidencing the many successes and value of this new role, from the perspective of patients, services, NHS staff and TAPPs themselves. Cohort 2 included 90 roles and expanded to Greater Manchester, from March 2022 to March 2023. The positive impact on patient outcomes and staff capacity identified in Cohort 1 was replicated in Cohort 2, and preliminary cost-effectiveness analysis of TAPPs in primary care identified potentially similar costs and gains in patients’ generic health-related quality of life (when measured in quality-adjusted life years or QALYs) compared with usual care, which could liberate resources from GP time. Cohort 3 is the final cohort of this three-year pilot and included 63 funded roles across Cumbria, Lancashire, Liverpool & Merseyside, Manchester & Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire. Cohort 3 is the focus of this evaluation report, but we end with overall recommendations and conclusions from our three years of TAPP.
Aims of the Evaluation
The overall aim of this report led by UCLan and LSCFT, was to evaluate the success of the programme and TAPP role in Cohort 3, via three criteria:
1) TAPP retention and course completion alongside academic training experience, during the 12-month training period (academic evaluation).
2) The acceptability and impact of TAPPs in clinical settings (clinical service evaluation).
Method
The academic and clinical service evaluation involved triangulation of data from: 1) patients, 2) clinical supervisors, and 3) the workforce (TAPPs).
Summary of Key Findings
1) Retention of TAPPs and course completion rate: Only 6% of TAPPs withdrew from the course due to factors outside of our control. Of the 94% remaining TAPPs, all who completed the course within the 12-month training period achieved the required clinical competencies and passed the PgDip APP programme.
2) TAPPs’ experience of the training: TAPPs valued their role and see it as a valued career pathway that can provide direct clinical experience and skills and support personal and professional development. Some TAPPs experienced challenges, particularly around the learning of new intervention skills and the amount of time spent teaching these.
3) Acceptability of the TAPP role to patients: positive feedback was received from patients regarding the support they received from a TAPP, the qualities of the TAPP, and the ability of the TAPP to support positive change via the learning of new skills and strategies. A common theme, however, across services and settings was the need for more intervention sessions and time.
4) Impact of the TAPP work on patient outcomes: there was evidence of improvements across mental health routine clinical outcome measures (ROMs) (e.g., depression, anxiety, wellbeing, goals, quality of life) across a range of services, following intervention with a TAPP.
5) Acceptability of the workforce to Clinical Supervisors: supervisors identified a myriad of ways in which the TAPP role had a positive impact, including the delivery of psychological interventions and increased patient satisfaction, generating additional workforce capacity within the service and wider service benefits (e.g., decreasing waiting times). Challenges included the embedding of the role into the service and the systematic and pragmatic factors associated with this (e.g., how the role sits within the service; training and support requirements).
Recommendations
As this three-year pilot comes to an end, our recommendations are shaped by the fact that a business case submitted in September 2023, for continued funding of the TAPP Programme for a further three years, was not supported. We will now be focusing on working with the national team and clinical stakeholder reference group to support the three cohorts of qualified APPs in their roles, their future development, and careers. Our recommendations are as follows:
1) To share the results of this final year evaluation with our stakeholders, including TAPPs, their supervisors, managers, and clinical leads; our main sponsors at NHSE; the North West MHLDA Regional Workforce and Supply Board; and NW PPN.
2) To replicate our first publication (Budd et al., 2022) by translating evaluation results into a second publishable Open Access service evaluation paper to share with the academic and clinical communities.
3) To continue to support APP development and career progression, working closely with the national team, The Psychological Professions Network North West and other key stakeholders.
4) To implement the option to grandparent APPs into Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner (MHWP) roles, in line with stakeholder preference.
5) To consolidate project materials, publications, and evaluation reports, as an exemplar of best practice, to support the development of future workforce projects.
6) To work with the national team to support the development of a Band 6 Senior MHWP role, to provide further career progression opportunities for APPs that transition into MHWP roles.
7) To track, as far as is possible, the career progression of current APPs, to understand destinations of this workforce to evaluate whether initial increased supply of psychological practitioners has been of benefit to the wider psychological workforce.
Conclusions
The evaluation of cohort 3 represents the final year of the proof-of-concept project in developing a new role that can deliver psychological intervention work in a range of settings. The role was well-received, and APPs are highly valued within the North-West region, as key contributors to workforce supply, delivering improved outcomes for patients.
The evaluation of all three cohorts highlights significant successes, the value the role contributed, and the challenges embedding this new role. This project has continued to demonstrate both excellent supply (over 500 applications for cohort 1, over 600 for cohort 2 and over 700 for cohort 3) and the benefits of recruiting career-focused psychology graduates to work in healthcare. This is a key area for development among psychological professions, where there is currently no direct route from the completion of a psychology undergraduate degree to working in healthcare in a professional role.
The APP role has been responsive to current rising demand and gaps in provision for mental health Services and the APPs have improved population health outcomes. The role has helped to meet the strategic priorities of NHS LTP that relate to the growth of the psychological workforce, new career pathways, and new ways of working
Medicines and other factors causing deaths in English and welsh care homes: five-years of preventing future death reports by coroners
Get PDFBackground
Whilst information has been published on the impact, severity and causes of incidents involving medicines in care homes, it has not been systematically described. This review explored whether coroners’ Preventing Future Death (PFD) reports involving medicines for people living in care homes could add to this evidence base.
Methods
PFD reports made publicly available between 2017 and 2021 classified as ‘care home-related deaths’ were reviewed. Reports describing medicines and/or medicines processes were identified. Contributory factors within these reports were then identified.
Results
Within the timeframe, 156 reports were published, and 25 described medicines (n = 27) or medicines processes (n = 5) concerning people living in care homes. The impact of medicines and/or medicines processes was quantified as no impact (n = 7), contributory (n = 6) and direct (n = 14) per report. Two key themes emerged. Four deaths had an association between their falls risk, prescribed anticoagulants, and the failure of the service to seek timely emergency care following a fall and two deaths concerned endocrine medicines, where people refused insulin or blood sugar monitoring and staff did not seek timely advice.
Conclusion
This study demonstrated PFD reports provide an insight into the potential association between medicines, and other aspects of the person’s care in causing harm
Novice LGBTQ+ Scholars’ Practices in Writing for Scholarly Publication
No full textThis collection brings together perspectives from early-career LGBTQ+ scholars as they navigate the scholarly publishing landscape, highlighting their experiences and challenges toward providing greater representation within the academic community and existing scholarship. // The volume reflects on the ways in which scholarly output is intricately linked with scholarly identity and the challenges LGBTQ+ scholars face when their scholarly and gender and sexual identities can often seem to be in conflict. The book showcases perspectives from doctoral students and early-career scholars from around the world working across different disciplines, supported by case studies, autoethnographic narratives, and discourse analysis, to explore key issues facing those who identify as LGBTQ+ or who wish to research and publish on topics relating to gender and sexual identity. These include negotiating positionality, the role of writing styles in identity construction for queer scholars, the ways in which publishing gatekeepers perpetuate heteronormativity, and the part support networks play for researchers. // The book gives voice to a wider range of scholars toward creating a more inclusive publishing environment and will be of interest to students and researchers who identify as LGBTQ+ and those working in such fields as applied linguistics, English for academic purposes, queer theory, and gender studies
The effects of wide vs. self-selected squat stance width on performance indices in elite rugby league players; an 8-week pre-season randomized control intervention.
Get PDFThis study examined the efficacy of wide compared to self-selected stance width squats in terms of mediating performance improvements during an 8-week period of pre-season training in elite rugby league players. Participants (N=26) were randomly separated into either wide (N=13) (i.e. self-selected squat stance width increased by 20%) or self-selected (N=13) squat stance width training groups, and they completed an 8-week pre-season training block. Measures of 505-agility test time (primary outcome), 3 repetition maximum (3RM) squat strength in participants self-selected stance position and counter movement jump height were measured at baseline and 8-weeks. There were no significant differences between training groups in terms of the improvements made during the intervention period for 505-agility test (wide: pre = 2.47±0.08 & post = 2.34±0.11’s and self-selected: pre = 2.46±0.05 & post = 2.35±0.08’s), counter movement jump (wide: pre = 42.68±9.57 & post = 44.65±9.04cm, and self-selected: pre = 49.33±6.70 & post = 50.33±4.67cm) or 3RM squat strength (wide: pre = 159.00±15.24 & post = 178.00±19.32kg and self-selected: pre = 168.33±11.73 & post = 185.56±16.48kg). As such the findings from the current randomized controlled trial suggest that there is not sufficient evidence to suggest that wide stance width squats represent a more efficacious method of resistance training prescription in elite rugby league